We had a couple of rest days this week so decided to get some of the tourist things out the way. There are so many places to visit here but the small village of Guadalest is ranked one of the major tourism destinations, and we can see why. It sits in a stunning position, Guadalest is precariously perched on the pinnacle and carved out of a mountain top, giving fabulous views across the valley and a beautiful turqoise resevoir below.
There is two regions to the village, the castle part is accessed through a tunnel carved into the rock. The village was built by the Arabs as a military stronghold, and the castle has been mostly destroyed now due to battles and earthquakes, although the walls are still standing and you can still walk up to the top and get breathtaking views down into the valleys below. There is a small old cemetery up there too which is the highest located cemetary in Spain. It now consists of little more than a few limbless statues and some crosses. We visited an old house that is now a museum on our way up to the castle. This house belonged to a wealthy family and has been made to look almost exactly as it did when they lived in it years and years ago.
There is an awful lot of museums in the village which we would have loved to have visited, but unfortunately due to it being "winter" season these were all closed. On the other hand due to it being winter also meant that instead of the hoard of tourists that normally congregate here there were only a few people wandering about so we were able to get some great photos with no people in them and while up at the castle we were entirely on our own so we could soak up the views and atmosphere in peace.
On our way back we went for a drive inland abit further and this drive was also well worth the trip. The roads are windy and narrow but the scenery was brilliant. On the coast everywhere you look are orange orchards, but inland these are replaced by olive and pine trees. You are surrounded by mountains, and valleys, and as everywhere in Spain masses of cliffs. On the slopes of the mountainsides are Moorish terraces, some of which are slowly crumbling from disuse and others thriving with olive trees.
